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Fire fighting is one of the world's most honored but hazardous
occupations. It is the duty of every fire department to save
lives and reduce injuries and property losses. Firefighters perform
no greater service than by going to the aid of others.
Whenever there is a disaster, the fire department is one of
the first agencies called to the scene. The emergency situation
does not always involve fire. It may involve cave-ins, building
collapses, auto accidents, aircraft crashes, natural disasters
such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes, hazardous
materials incidents, civil disturbances, explosions, water emergencies
and medical incidents. The list of potential emergencies is unlimited.
Because of budget constraints and shrinking numbers of available
personnel, many fire departments are finding that mutual aid
is the only effective means available to properly provide the
emergency services expected by their communities. The ideal fire
fighter would be properly trained and equipped to deal with any
type of emergency situation but this is seldom the case.
Because of the widely varied nature of the possible emergencies
fire fighters are expected to deal with, it is very conceivable
that a fire fighter's entire career could be spent in training
instead of responding and assisting the public.
For example, federally mandated hazardous materials training
can require several hundred hours of training to become certified
as a hazardous materials specialist. Emergency medical training
can take anywhere from 40 hours to 1600 hours depending upon
the level of care provided to the public. Rescue training for
water, high angle, confined space, structural collapse, auto
extrication, cave-ins, etc. can take over 100 hours each to become
proficient in the required skills and techniques. Fire fighting
techniques require thousands of hours of training to become skilled
and knowledgeable.
Fire fighters also have to be trained to inspect buildings
for fire and safety hazards, understand building and fire codes,
and recognize the signs of incendiary fires and be able to collect
and preserve the evidence of those fires. They must be public
speakers and educators to be able to pass along fire safety information
to children, to school officials, to hospital and nursing home
personnel and to the general public they are sworn to protect.
All of the skills listed above also require annual refresher
training to maintain proficiency. To be able to meet the needs
of the public, many agencies rely heavily on mutual aid from
other organizations to provide the necessary personnel and some
of the specialized techniques required at these incidents. It
is very seldom that one department can "do it all".
History of Mutual Aid
In 1679, the city of Boston established America's first fire
department. After the revolutionary war, the volunteer fire fighter
idea spread throughout the country. Mutual aid followed soon
afterwards when regular major conflagrations overwhelmed the
capabilities of local fire departments.
Feelings of exhilaration and self-satisfaction over serving
one's community and doing a worthwhile job well was the fire
fighter's only reward. Many famous Americans have served their
communities as fire fighters; George Washington, John Hancock,
Alexander Hamilton, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere all were volunteer
fire fighters in their day.
In the early 1700's, private businesses and industries began
forming their own rudimentary fire brigades made up of their
own workers to better protect their facilities. Mutual aid was
occasionally requested from neighboring facilities and fire departments
but no formalized system came into widespread usage until the
beginning of World War II.
The Baton Rouge Area Mutual Aid System or BRAMAS is claimed
to be the first area wide mutual aid system in the United States.
It was formed in 1944 by the Baton Rouge Fire Department and
local industrial facilities safety personnel. Its original emphasis
was civil defense preparedness during World War II but it has
since expanded to include fires, explosions, gas releases, power
failures, forces of nature, etc.
As stated under the "Purpose of the Organization"
section from the BRAMAS mutual aid agreement:
"The purpose of the Baton Rouge Mutual Aid System is
to develop, maintain and improve procedures among the members
for mutual assistance and cooperation in the control of emergencies
and disasters such as fires, spills explosions, releases of toxic
substances, etc. The procedures will involve the making available
by one or more members of BRAMAS to the member affected by such
emergency or to designated government agencies or third parties,
that material and equipment, and where specified, personnel,
at the disposal of the members of BRAMAS necessary for the containment
of and clean-up of the emergency."
As stated under the "Areas of Interest" section,
the areas of interest encompass two basic objectives:
- To assist in the prevention of disasters
- To help minimize the effects of major incidents should they
occur.
These objectives are accomplished by:
- Establishing a coordinated and practical long range plan
for handling emergencies.
- Encouraging cooperation between the private sector and government
agencies.
- Improving techniques and facilities for emergency control
by applying available resources more effectively.
BRAMAS's 92 member organizations are industries of all types,
federal government agencies, state, parish and local government
agencies and volunteer organizations. It covers an eight (8)
parish area (counties in states outside of Louisiana).
BRAMAS is not designed to be an emergency response organization.
It is a banding together of neighboring industries and governmental
agencies for the express purpose of assisting each other with
equipment at the scene of major emergencies.
Member agencies that call for assistance retain responsibility
for handling their own emergencies. Each member organization
appoints a representative of that organization. The representatives
elect a chairman and executive committee to supervise the operations
of the system.
BRAMAS representatives meet monthly to review incidences,
exchange information in a networking format, host speakers on
subjects pertaining to emergency response and control and discuss
system improvements.
When BRAMAS first formed in 1944, there was no formal agreement
for response by the agencies involved. Now, a formal mutual aid
agreement must be signed by each member organization, The current
agreement addresses indemnification.
The system is triggered only upon request by a member organization.
Each member organization is responsible for setting up a chain-of-command
on each shift that has the authority to (1) call for mutual aid
assistance or (2) provide assistance if requested. Communications
are triggered through the Baton Rouge Fire Department's dispatch
center. The dispatch center maintains a system of telephones,
radios, computer and card files of member resources and is manned
24 hours per day.
The BRAMAS system for several years has offered low cost or
free training programs to its members as well as regularly scheduled
disaster drills in a constant attempt to improve the response
capabilities of all members of the system. |
